Moravia, Alberto (1907-1990), was one of the greatest Italian novelists and short-story writers of the 1900’s. Moravia wrote more than 30 books. His works feature realistic descriptions and dialogue and a spare, stark writing style. His fiction provides a penetrating insight into human behavior. Moravia attacked moral corruption in the Italian middle class and depicted characters who were both socially isolated and emotionally bankrupt. He also explored the futility of sex without love.
Moravia was born in Rome. His real name was Alberto Pincherle. At 16, he suffered from tuberculosis and was confined to sanitariums for two years. There he studied English and French, read some of the great works of European literature, and began to write. He later worked as a journalist. Moravia’s first novel, A Time of Indifference, appeared in 1929. The novel dealt with a morally corrupt middle-class family and its support of Italian Fascism. Moravia’s other major novels include The Woman of Rome (1947), The Conformist (1951), Two Women (1957), and The Empty Canvas (1960). His short stories were collected in Roman Tales (1954), More Roman Tales (1959), and Paradise (1960). His essays, many on literature, were published in Man As an End (1963). He wrote an autobiography, Alberto Moravia’s Life (1990).
